Attitude and behavior of pregnant women about influenza infection and influenza vaccine in a city in Turkiye

Abstract

Pregnant women are among the risk groups for influenza. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge and attitude level of pregnant women in risk group about influenza infection and vaccine and some factors affecting their vaccination decision. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 391 pregnant women in the city of Kütahya replied a questionnaire developed by the researchers. While 35% of the participants stated that they had an influenza infection during pregnancy, 62.4% did not know that they could get the flu vaccine while pregnant. Only one of the pregnant women had a flu vaccine during pregnancy. While 67% defined influenza infection as a simple and outpatient disorder, 51.3% who did not want to be vaccinated against the flu thought that the vaccine could harm the baby. In addition, it was found that having had the flu in a previous pregnancy and healthcare professionals counselling about the vaccine increased the rate of getting the flu vaccine. The fact that most of the participants learned that they could get the flu vaccine during pregnancy for the first time and they were worried that the flu vaccine might harm the baby shows that effective methods are not used in informing and raising awareness about the flu vaccine. (Afr J Reprod Health 2022; 26 [8]: 13-19).